The connecticut agricultural experiment station receives hatch act capacity funding to address the challenges and priority areas identified by connecticut residents

The priority research areas are: (1) adaptation and resilience to a changing climate: for example, hatch project accession no. 1018780 supported aquatic invasive plant surveys in 15 lakes and ponds as well as the connecticut river. New populations of the connecticut river strain of hydrilla were found in four of the waterbodies. Hydrilla is the most severe submersed invasive aquatic plant problem in the southeastern united states, and this has now spread to connecticut. This spread appears to be a direct function of a changing climate. In cooperation with the united states army corps of engineers, five sites along the connecticut river were treated with an EPA approved herbicide to control hydrilla. The efficacy appears promising but further evaluation is needed. Separately, the hatch project accession number 7005299 investigated the impact of soot (particles emitted during wildfires) on plant metabolism and chemistry, namely the uptake of contaminants like polyaromatic hydrocarbons heavy metals after exposure to soot generated from wildfires. These studies will help our understanding of the impact of soot deposits on agricultural crops after wildfire events, which are increasing as a function of changing climate. (2) enhancing health and well-being: for example, hatch project accession number 1021837 found that treating mosquito habitats with larvicides effectively decreased the abundance of west nile virus vector larvae in two connecticut towns but did not affect the overall predicted risk level for west nile virus. This study will help state and local governments in their future decision making on mosquito control programs. In another study, the effectiveness of the bacterial larvicide (lysinibacillus sphaericus) was accessed and shown to eliminate the west nile vector (culex species) from treated sites but had no impact on CO-inhabiting aedes mosquito species, suggesting that different larvicides should be used in habitats containing non-culex species. (3) sustainable agriculture and food supply: for example, hatch project accession 7005298 is determining how rising temperatures will affect the severity and spread of disease caused by root-knot nematodes, 7004598 is identifying novel biocontrol mechanisms against pome fruit disease, and 7005078 is determining which BT resistance traits may be C ompromising corn production in the northeast. Separately, the presence of emerging contaminants such as micro- and nanoplastics and naturally occurring toxins like mycotoxins at elevated compromises food safety. The overarching goal of the hatch project accession 7004046 is to examine the risk of these contaminants to the food supply, especially their uptake and translocation by crop species, as well as their dynamics and fate in the agrifood system.